


Everything For You

by Pippinpaddleopsicopolis (Barnable)



Series: They're Counting On You [7]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Day Seven: Reunions | Shopping | Free Day, Established Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Light Angst, M/M, POV Zuko (Avatar), Post-Canon, Shopping, Sokka (Avatar) Needs a Hug, Sokka (Avatar)-centric, Sokka Week 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-07
Updated: 2020-11-07
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:20:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27431905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Barnable/pseuds/Pippinpaddleopsicopolis
Summary: No matter how much he loves visiting his boyfriend, Sokka still hates it in the Fire Nation. Luckily, Zuko knows just how to make him feel better.
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: They're Counting On You [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1995538
Comments: 15
Kudos: 114
Collections: Sokka Week 2020





	Everything For You

“Sokka?”

“I hate this.” His tone was flat, certain, his fingers gripping the edges of his hair as he shook his head back and forth. Zuko took a step closer, wanting to comfort him, but terrified that he didn’t want to be touched. His body language was too closed off, too small, like he wanted to shrink away from everyone and anyone. “I hate it so, _so_ much.”

“What?” When he didn’t get an answer, Zuko continued to move closer to where his boyfriend was sitting on the floor, his knees pulled up to his chest and his gaze turned down to his feet. He slowly knelt down at Sokka’s side, placing one hand on his knee, and using the other to tilt his chin upward. “Sokka. Hey. You have to talk to me, or I can’t help you.”

“I hate it here.” Sokka’s voice cracked a little when he pushed his hands over his eyes, finally looking up to meet Zuko’s gaze. His eyes were wide and bloodshot, his teeth biting the edge of his lip. “I love you and I want to be here for you and visit you, but I can’t do this. They don’t like me here. Everyone— Everyone either stares at me like I’m the enemy or like I’m a victim to be pitied and I _hate_ it. I hate this place so much.”

Rather than trying to respond immediately, Zuko slid forward and pulled Sokka into his arms. He understood. Not as well as he wanted to, not as much as he needed to, but enough to know that he didn’t blame Sokka at all for the way he felt. The Fire Nation committed genocide. They raided Sokka’s home and killed his mother. He had every right to hate the Fire Nation, every right to not feel comfortable there, and Zuko wouldn’t judge him for it one bit.

“Okay.” He slid a hand on the back of Sokka’s head, pulling him down into his shoulder and pressing a kiss to his temple. “It’s okay. You don’t have to stay here if you don’t want to. I understand. We can just cancel this whole thing and I’ll come visit you at the tribe as soon as I can, okay?”

“No.” Sokka shook his head quickly, his hands moving from his head to around Zuko, his fingers gripping the cloth around the back of his shoulders .”No, that’s not fair. It’s not fair for me to make you come visit me but not ever come and visit you. I want to stay, I just—”

“Sokka, it’s _fine_. It’s not the same thing. The Water Tribe has never done anything to me, but the Fire Nation has done _everything_ to you. You have every right to hate it here. You have every right to feel uncomfortable, especially when people are giving you looks like that. Just take a deep breath, okay? I’m not upset with you for wanting to leave.”

“But it’s not fair. It’s been five _years_. I shouldn’t hate it so much anymore, but I _do_. Everyone stares at me and they don’t respect me or listen to me and everywhere I look there are just reminders of all the things I hated but those are the things that matter to you. This is your culture and it’s not fair for me to take that away from you for my own stupid reasons.”

“No, it wouldn’t be fair for you to take it away from me for stupid reasons,” Zuko agreed, running a hand through Sokka’s hair, “but these are not stupid reasons. These are very real, very understandable reasons for not feeling safe. How about for the rest of the day, we just do whatever you want and then in the morning I’ll have a boat ready to take you home?”

Sokka didn’t answer. He nuzzled deeper into Zuko’s shoulder, his fingers squeezing around his back as he took another deep breath. He was probably trying to find another way to make himself sound like the bad guy, when there was nothing wrong with how he felt. Nothing wrong with not feeling comfortable in the place that brought him so much pain. Zuko kissed his cheek, laying a hand on his face and nudging him to look up again.

“Hey. Sokka.” This time, the kiss was on his lips. Sokka almost smiled but didn’t quite make it. “I am never going to be upset with you for this, okay? It’s fine. I understand. I know it can’t be easy coming back here after everything that happened. If you want to spend time somewhere else—the tribe, Kyoshi Island, or we could visit my uncle in Ba Sing Se—then please just tell me. I don’t care where we are as long as we’re together.”

“Okay.” Sokka nodded, turning his head to stop himself from being muffled by Zuko’s shoulder. “But if you’re going to make me go home in the morning then you have to take me shopping today because you promised and you haven’t done it.”

Zuko groaned, but he was joking more than anything else and he hoped Sokka understood that. He hugged him tighter just in case. “It’s not that I don’t want to, it’s just that I’m afraid that if I do it, you’re going to buy the whole market.”

“I am not going to buy the whole market. _You’re_ going to buy the whole market.”

Rather than trying to argue with his adorable line, Zuko pressed a kiss to the top of Sokka’s head before pulling away and offering a hand to help him to his feet. Sokka accepted, letting out a sigh as he rose. He wrapped an arm around Zuko’s waist and, immediately, Zuko moved to hold him back. He was leaning on him the same way he always did when he wanted support for his bad leg. Words weren’t necessary. He accepted in a heartbeat.

They rejected an offer for a ride into down, despite Zuko gently nudging Sokka to take it. Sokka wanted to be left alone and Zuko respected that, so he kept an arm around him and left his other hand free to flip off anyone who decided either of them were worth gawking at. It wasn’t a long walk to the markets, but it was long enough that Sokka was calmed down by the time they made it there; holding Zuko’s hand and still leaning on him a little for support.

Of course, they had to get snacks first. In general, Sokka was not a big fan of Fire Nation food and he made that very clear, but he _loved_ fire gummies. He made Zuko get him a few bags, just to make sure he had some to last the whole day and to bring with him to snack on when he was riding home too. Zuko just smiled and got him whatever he wanted. He was rich. Sokka was happy. The people needed the money more than he did. It was a win-win.

“Books!”

Zuko lurched when Sokka yanked him to the right, dragging him into the bookstore. In all honesty, he’d almost forgotten that was even there, but the moment they walked in, Sokka’s face was so excited and happy that he decided not to admit to it. He could tell Sokka that he was such a dumbass he forgot about the stores in his own market another time.

They spent _ages_ in the bookstore. After a few minutes, Zuko became rather bored out of his mind, but Sokka was so smiley and cute that he couldn’t walk away and let his boyfriend drag him wherever he wanted to look. Eventually, Sokka let go of Zuko’s hand and started using him to help carry all his books, piling so much stuff in the poor Fire Lord’s hands he felt like he might crumble beneath the weight of it. But it was worth it, he thought, because it was for Sokka.

“I haven’t seen this many books since we went to that library and almost got buried alive,” said Sokka, shaking his head. The look Zuko gave him must’ve been too ridiculously baffled because he snorted right away. “Come on, I told you about that, right? It was pretty damn memorable. That’s when Appa got stolen, remember?”

“Oh, right. Sorry, you have so many stories that sometimes it’s hard to keep track of them all.”

“I know. It’s fine. That’s why I read books. So I can learn even _more_ stories to torment you with.”

Sokka smiled and leaned forward to give Zuko a quick kiss, to which his face went red and he let out a sigh because after all of that, he’d been bested _again_. He tried his best but Sokka always had _some_ kind of goofy comeback for him and after two years of dating, Zuko still hadn’t managed to get him back for it. He always came up with the dumbest lines in response, which got nothing from Sokka but another snort and kiss like he’d done just then.

After another long twenty minutes sifting through the books, Sokka finally decided he’d had enough and Zuko was left to pay for everything. He tipped generously for how long and how loud Sokka was looking at the books. Again, Zuko didn’t need the money. The people needed the money, and Sokka needed the smile. Wins all around. Except for Zuko’s arms, which were still buckling under the weight of the hardbacks and scrolls.

They took back to the streets after that, Zuko struggling to hold everything and Sokka babbling on about all the reading he would do on his way home. Zuko just smiled and nodded along, trying to keep his face from giving away how badly his arms were shaking. He needed a servant to bring that stuff back to the palace for him before he lost his elbows to storybooks.

“Sorry, do you need some help carrying those?” The moment Sokka asked, Zuko shook his head. He was strong. He could carry them all on his own. “Okay. Just looks like you’re sweating a little bit.”

“I’m not sweating,” snapped Zuko, giving him a look, though the moisture on his brow said otherwise. “All right, fine, I’m sweating. But it’s not because of the books, it’s just because it’s hot here. We’re standing directly under the sun. You think I’m not going to sweat?”

“Yeah. That would be like me shivering back home. I think you’re way too well-adjusted to the heat to ever start sweating like that just because of a little sun. Here.” Sokka reached out for one of the book bags and Zuko released it hesitantly. His fingers completely let go only when Sokka pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Seriously, thank you, but I can do this myself.”

“I know, sorry. I just didn’t want anything to take away from your day.”

“Believe me, if there’s anything taking away from my day, it’s not getting to hold a bunch of books.”

Zuko had a feeling that Sokka was referring to something else as what was taking away from the day, and quickly looked around the market to see if there was anything he missed. A couple people were looking their way, but it didn’t really matter. Zuko was the _Fire Lord_. People always stared when he went out, regardless of who was with him. He kept an eye out for dirty looks regardless, not wanting any stupid jerk to ruin the day for his boyfriend.

The rest of the afternoon was just as nice as their stroll through the bookstore. Occasionally, Zuko found himself bored out of his mind and desperate to go somewhere else, but he never pushed Sokka. He never did anything but follow him and encourage him because shopping made him happy. It gave him _good_ memories of the Fire Nation. It helped him discover things there that made him happy instead of reminding him of the past.

At some point, Zuko did manage to find someone to carry the bags back to the palace for them—it was a guard who wanted to stay and protect Zuko, but he _insisted_ he was fine and he just wanted his arms back—and then, finally, he was able to hold Sokka’s hand again. They were slow walking back. Sokka kept talking about all the things he found and Zuko kept kissing his hand and his cheek and his shoulder and by the time they arrived back at the palace, it was nearing dark.

“Hey.” Sokka stopped walking in front of the steps to the palace, turning around to grab Zuko’s other hand. Zuko’s gaze flickered down, staring at their entwined fingers for a long moment before he looked up again. “I just wanted to say thank you. Not for the shopping but… for understanding. I guess. I know it’s kind of stupid that I’m still uncomfortable in the Fire Nation after all these years, and—”

“No.” Immediately, Zuko gave his hands a squeeze, hoping it was as reassuring as he meant it. “You have to stop saying that, Sokka. I know how it feels to you, but it is not stupid. You have every right to feel the way you do.”

“I know, it’s just…” His voice trailed off as he twisted Zuko’s fingers around his own, gently playing with them in that way he always did as a substitute for his usual fidgeting. He let out a sigh, shaking his head slightly as he squeezed their palms back together. “It feels like I should be over it by now. Like— Like enough time has passed that I shouldn’t be afraid to come here anymore but whenever I see this place, the _palace_ , it just reminds me of everything. What they did to my mother. My home. Not to mention the rest of the war or my grand failure that was the Day of Black Sun.”

“That was not a failure, and even if it were, it wouldn’t be your fault.”

“Thanks for trying, but what happened that day was basically textbook failure.” A kiss to the base of his neck and a follow-up to the edge of his jaw weren’t what he needed but it was what Zuko felt compelled to do. And it worked. If nothing else, he got a smile. “Okay, okay, I get it. I just wanted to say that this means a lot to me. That you— that you don’t think it’s stupid. Or weak.”

Zuko opened his mouth to speak but ended up letting out only a sigh. He pulled their fingers apart, sliding his hands up to Sokka’s cheeks. For a moment, all he did was hold him. Stared into his eyes, to the little sparkle in them, to the way they flickered back and forth across his. Zuko gently nudged him down, pressing a kiss to his forehead before stroking his cheeks with his thumbs. Sokka barely smiled.

“I could never think any less of you, Sokka. For anything.” He kissed Sokka’s lips, sliding his hands around to the back of his head and pressing their forehead together. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Sokka smiled as he let out a breath, lingering where he was before pulling away. “Okay. We should get in there now. I want to check out what I got.”

It took everything in Zuko’s power not to groan. They finally got home, and they had to look at it all _again_? Oh, the things he did for love.


End file.
